Escaping the cold is always a great idea …boarding a jet plane, landing in paradise with sunshine , and being handed a drink with a tiny umbrella. Yep, sounds totally amazing!
How about escaping our winter comfort foods? Cooking with Latin flavors reminds me of the beach, and our tiny umbrella is the lime. The kids just ate two tacos each, so these are definitely a favorite in our house!
Here is the recipe…

Directions:
Add lime juice in a large mixing bowl.
Whisk in chili powder, ground cumin, cayenne pepper, and garlic.
Add pork to a large Ziploc bag, pour in marinade.
Refrigerate 6-24 hours.
Add contents and chicken stock to a baking dish.
Bake 300 degrees for 3-4 hours until ribs are tender and start falling apart when touched with a fork. Add liquid as needed.
Let stand for 5 minutes and shred pork.
Add pork and toppings to the tortilla shell or make a salad, squeeze lime wedges.

Show winter who is boss with a big pot of hot soup! I think of this soup as a vegetable soup but somehow adding peas automatically makes it…Sicilian Split Pea Soup!

Maybe it is because we rarely add peas to soup. Because they get super mushy, yes. The fix? Add the peas last or start with dehydrated split peas. The broth base can be chicken stock, bouillon, or this recipe can easily be made into a vegetarian recipe. I didn’t have one on hand, but a ham bone is traditionally put in the stock for even more depth of flavor. Stay warm! Enjoy!

Directions:
Heat olive oil in a large soup pot.
Add onion and shallot, cook until soft.
Pour in chicken stock and bring to a boil.
Add carrots and celery and cook for 20-30 minutes until softened.
Season with rosemary, thyme, basil, salt, and pepper.
Boil water in another pot and cook pasta until slightly under, al dente.
Drain and return pasta to the pot, adding 2 ladles of soup broth to keep it from sticking.
If adding cooked peas add them last.
Add 1/4 cup of noodles to a soup bowl.
Pour over 1-2 ladles of soup.
Top with fresh grated parmesan cheese and serve hot with a crusty bread.

A stuffy head, sore throat, and 10 degrees high temperature calls for some tea! I am typically not a tea drinker, but I was looking for relief coupled with enjoyable flavors. The grapefruit component adds a sense of being full. Perfect for someone looking to curb extra snacking while being stuck indoors. I added some coconut oil because it has wonderful antibacterial, antifungal, and anitmicrobial properties. We don’t have time to get sick!
It is 9am or I would totally add a shot of bourbon to this amazingly delicious, flavorful warmup!

Winter Pittsburgh Restaurant Week is upon us. January 11-17.During the week, I make a point to dine at a restaurant that I have never been to before, get out of my comfort zone, and try something new! This time I chose a Brazilian restaurant that has been around for 15 years. How did I not know about this place? Probably because the trip entails two tunnels and multiple bridges! You naaugh how we Pittsburghers are about tunnels and bridges ‘n at!

For a unique dining experience call…Green Forest Churrascaria, totally worth the trip! Here is the basic info, all you can eat meat, a great wine list, and a “salad bar,” that’s anything but salad! The battle is between the multitude of delectable seafood options versus the meat! Unfortunately, one can only eat so much!

The most important thing to know here is green means more meat and red means taking a break!

Beef stroganoff is a mix of sautéed onions mushrooms and tender beef finished with sour cream. Usually served over buttered noodles, traditional Russian stroganoff is served over mashed potatoes or rice. Definitely a true comfort food, the stew-like dish warms the belly… and the heart.

The trick to stroganoff is creating tender bites of meat. This recipe uses the “london broil” method instead of a braised beef top round, which I find to be too tough.

Other options are beef tenderloin or a sirloin steak cut into 2 inch strips. I finish the meat in red wine to tenderize and add flavor. Red wine softens the meat’s muscle fibers creating a juicy, tender bite.

Directions:
Preheat oven on high broil.
Heat butter in a pan.
Add sliced onions and cook until soft.
Add mushrooms, drizzle olive oil, salt and pepper to taste.
Mix all together and sauté 3-5 minutes. Remove from pan and set aside.
Salt and pepper steak and broil 4-5 minutes per side until slightly under medium rare in the center.
Let stand for 10 minutes and slice against the grain.
Meanwhile, boil water and cook orzo according to package.
Add wine and stock to pan to heat placing meat in the middle to absorb flavors, tenderize, and finish off to desired doneness.
Add mushrooms and onions and mix well.
Remove from heat and add sour cream and stir until creamy.
Serve stroganoff over orzo.

The staff t-shirts actually say “I like pork butts and I cannot lie.” How fun is that? Super cool and totally trendy, I still haven’t figured out if the restaurant called Bakn in Carnegie, PA is a diner or a gastropub? I entered with an expectation for bacon overdone-ness. Bacon on everything, in everything, and of course the topping of choice. Although this is somewhat the case, you can definitely eat your bacon on the side if you wish.

Serving as right now’s hot spot for revitalization, Carnegie is finding “new” from food to fashion. From the retail store of A. Ward’s Cheescakes, my favorite cheesecake ever, Fluhme GlamBar, which sounds like a princess’s dream, and every little cute boutique and coffee shop in between, Carnegie is movin’ on up! Once a main street lined with empty store fronts, the town’s parking meters come at a premium. And now there’s a fresh, hip restaurant called Bakn…

Bakn has a bar. Check. Honestly, I wasn’t sure what to expect! With hours 8am-10pm Tuesday through Saturday and Sunday 8am-9pm, you can get your breakfast for dinner, dinner for breakfast, and everything in between. I started with a Bakn Bloody Mary which contained house Bakn-Infused vodka, spicy bloody mary mix, a pickle, a hot pepper, and peppered bacon.
Absolutely delicious, I tasted a bit of horseradish in mine. Not sure if this was a bartending preference or what, but I loved it.

The Freshly Squeezed OJ is a must try along with the cocktails made with the OJ like Bakn’s Beermosa, Mimosa, Brunch Punch, or the 376 Standstill! Ha!

On to the menu…

Mostly breakfast-inspired, the menu ranges from signature eggs and omelet items to burgers. Being a pork belly girl, what caught my eye were the pork belly options- tacos, cuban, and a reuben. Since I was dining during brunch, I ordered for breakfast, the Breakfast Sandwich #1 Fried Egg, Peppered Bakn, Jarlsberg Cheese, Oven Roasted Tomato, Arugula, and Baknaise on Sourdough and for lunch, the Pork Belly Reuben.

The Bakn Flight was a perfect appetizer, a sampling of all five house bacon flavors of the day- Applewood Smoked, Maple, Boar, Peppered, and Cajun. The Breakfast Sandwich #1 was yummy! The creamy Jarlsberg and fresh sourdough made it! The pork belly Reuben did not disappoint. The pork belly was juicy with a pleasant sauerkraut, nothing overpowering. Baknaise is exactly what you think a bacon mayonnaise would taste like, a pairing light enough to love on probably anything!
I will go back to try the many different versions of pancakes and waffles with and without bacon!
We are so lucky to have local “foodpreneurs” dreaming, making it happen, taking the jump. Thank you! Pittsburghers are loving the dining diversity, the food, the fun!
Ciao!

I love a butter toffee crunch! My favorite salad is mixed greens, dried cranberries, crumbled goat cheese, and butter toffee pecans. I incorporated them into a simple chocolate chip cookie recipe and the results are totally delish!!
Not a fan of a nutty bite? Grind the pecans down instead of a coarse chop for a smooth finish.

My holiday baking typically includes tons of nuts! I am not sure if it’s because I grew up with old school Italian recipes where heaps of nuts and/or raisins were added to every single simple cookie or because I loooove the taste and texture. Not a huge raisin fan, I tend to add dried cranberries or cherries instead.
These double chocolate chunk cookies are a holiday favorite cookie- a must try! I doctored them up with some dried cherries and walnuts! Get creative and add in your faves!

We are totally sick of pumpkin pie! Ahhh! The pumpkin was so yummy and refreshing at first. Smothered with creamy cool whip, it was pretty much breakfast, lunch dessert, and dinner dessert while it lasted. Now we are so over it! For dessert tonight I changed it up and made a cherry pie edged in pistachios and chocolate chips. A little edgy and a little holiday chic, this special little bundle of sweetness is sure to hit the spot! Here is the recipe…

Instead of another potato casserole on your Thanksgiving table, try these adorable twice baked potatoes. With all of the sweetness of your favorite candied potatoes, these potatoes are sooooo delicious! Top each one with marshmallows, pom arils, cherries, pecans….or any combination! Do you have a guest who doesn’t like pecans? Give him/her a special potato with double marshmallows!